Collapsible crate



Jan. 22, 1957 LLLLLLLLLLLLLL TE o INVENTOR.

JAMES F. DEDMON J. F. DEDMON COLLAPSIBLE CRATE Jan. 22, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May l'7, 1952 JAMES F. DEDMON hufl Jan. 22, 1957 J. F. DEDMON 2,778,523

LLLLLLLLLLLLLL TE United States Patent O 2,778,523 COLLAPSIBLE CRATE James Finis Dedmon, Milan, Term.

Application May 17, 1952, Serial No. 288,455

2 Claims. (Cl. 21743) This nvention relates in general to wirebound boxes or collapsble crates and is directed more specifically to an improvement in such crates which will enable them to be closed and sealed in the manner of a cardboard carton and yet which will give the strength and rigidity present in a wooden crate.

In accordance with practice which has been customary heretofore, wirebound or collapsble crates have been utilized, but it has been necessary to seal the contents thereof by nailing covers and bottoms to the open ends thereof. To seal a collapsble crate in this manner is time consuming and, consequently, expensive.

Cardboard cartons may also be shipped in collapsed form, but when opened for use the open ends thereof are sealed by means of the closure flaps formed as an integral part thereof. r

Heretofore, however, it has not been possible to utilize cardboard cartons to ship certain merchandise such as heavy machinery and parts thereof because of the lack of strength inherent in the cardboard. Such cartons are used generally to ship comparatively lightweight material. When shipment of heavier substances was desired, it became necessary to use a more rigid construction and a stronger container which was usuallyin the form of a wirebound box capable of being collapsed for shipment and opened for packing. Increased cost of labor and materials has necessarily resulted in an increased cost of packing and shipping in wirebound crates because of the necessity of nailing the rigid ends to the open top and bottom of the crate.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide a collapsble crate which may be utilized for the shipment of heavy as.well as light material and which will overcome the disadvantages inherent in the use of present wirebound crates ofthe time consumng and expensve procedure of sealing the crate with the contents theren.

Another object of the nvention is to provide a collapsble crate wherein the open ends thereof may be sealed in a manner similar to the sealing of a cardboard carton.

A further object of the nvention is to provide a relatively rigid, collapsble, crate of the wirebound type wherein the sides of the crate have secured thereto flexible flaps which may be folded over one or both of the open ends of the crate thereby to close the ends and seal the contents theren.

Still another object of the nvention is to provide a collapsble crate having a pluralty of sides hingedly connected together and wherein each of the sides at one or both ends thereof has secured thereto a flexible flap in the nature of paperboard or a corrugated cardboard which flap is normally in a position parallel to the plane of the side to which it is secured but which may be folded over the adjacent open end of the crate so that all of the flaps will cooperate with each other to form a substantially complete closure for the end.

A still further object of the nvention is to provide on the other side members to form a closure for said' "ice a collapsble crate consisting of a pluralty of side members hingedly connected together and wherein each side member has a closure flap secured thereto which extends for a substantial distance toward the opposite end of the side to which it is secured in its normal position when the crate is collapsed but which may be folded over the open end of the crate to cooperate with the other flaps and substantially close said open end.

A still further and more specific object of the invention is to provide a collapsble crate having a pluralty of side members hingedly connected together wherein the open end thereof has supporting members to support a rigid cover and which also has a pluralty of flexible closure flaps secured to the ends of the side members for the purpose of folding them over the rigd cover and holding the cover in place thereby avoiding the ne' cessty of nailing, stapling, or otherwise securing the cover directly to the crate.

Still another specific object of the nvention is to provide a modified form of collapsble crate having side members hingedly connected togetherwherein each of the side members includes reinforcing strips of material such as wood along each edge thereof and wherein a panel is secured between the reinforcing members Which is of such length as to extend beyond the end of the crate so that it may be folded over the open end of the crate and cooperate with the other extensions of the pariels open end of the crate.

Other objects and advantages of the nvention will become apparent upon reading the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a collapsble crate embodying one form of the nvention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the crate shown in Fig. l showing the closure flaps as they are being moved to closed position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the crate shown in Figs. 1 and 2 illustrating the closure flapsin closed position;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectonal view through the upper end of one of the side members illustrating a preferred manner of securing the closure flap thereto;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a modified form of the nvention;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper end of a collapsble crate illustrating a still further modified form of the nvention;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a collapsble crate embodying the present nvention and illustrating the use thereof in connection with rigid covers for each open end of the crate; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the crate embodying one form of the present nvention in collapsed condition.

Collapsible crates as such which consist of four side members hingedly connected together and commonly known as a wirebound box, are broadly old in the art. These crates or boxes usually take the form illustrated in Fig. 1 wherein the crate itself is generally indicated by the numeral 1 and the side members are indicated at 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Upright rigid reinforcing members 6 are located along each longitudinal Upright edge of each side member and are fastened together at their upper ends by means of cleats 7. A similar cleat 8 extends transversely across the bottom of each side member and an intermediate cleat 9 is utilized between the upper and lower ends of the crate to fasten the reinforcing members 6 together between the ends thereof.

In this form of the nvention, each side member also includes a pluralty of slats 10 which extend between and are secured to the upper and lower cleats 7 and 3. A wire 11 extends around the four sides of the crate at the upper end thereof between the cleats 7 and the renforcing members 6 and slats 10. Similar wires 12 and 13 pass around the crate within the intermediate cleats 9 and the bottom cleats 8 respectively, thereby fastening the side members together in hinged relation sothat the crate may be collapsed in-the manner illustrated in Fig. 8 or opened to the position shown in Fig. l.

Up to the present time there have been no means provided for closing the open upper and lower ends of the crate other than the use of additional wood slats or a wood cover Which had to be nailed or stapled to the cleats 7 and 8, respectively. The present invention, therefore, embodies the use of closure fiaps 14 which may be secured to either or both ends of each of the side members 2, 3, 4 and 5.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention each closure fiap 14 is formed of flexible material such as corrugated cardboard or paperboard and one end of the fiap is secured to its associated side member between the cleat 7 and the framework of the side member consisting of the reinforcing members 6 and the slats 10, as more clearly shown in Fig. 4. Although the fiap 14 may be thus secured to the underside of the cleat 7 in any suitable or desired manner, it is most convenient to secure the fiap by means of staples ft which may also be utilized to secure the binding wire 11 in place around the four sides of the crate.

Each fiap 14 in the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, normally extends in a direction away from the end of the side member to which it is secured and toward the other end. Thus, the upper flaps 14 will normally extend downwardly and the lower flaps 14a will extend upwardly. Normally each fiap will extend toward the center cleat 9 and will terminate sub stantially at the cleat thereby forming a compact unit when the crate is collapsed for shipping. The over-all hulk of the crate will thereby not be increased and the collapsed crate may thus be shipped in the usual manner.

Fig. 2 illustrates the first step in closing the upper end of the crate by means of the flaps 14 and shows these flaps as they have been folded upwardly around the cleat 7 associated therewith.

Fig. 3 shows the upper end of the crate with all of the flaps 14 folded downwardly to span the space between the sides of the crate and it will be noted that opposing flaps have a combined length to substantially span the distance between opposed side members.

The open top end of the crate may thus be closed and sealed in a manner similar to that used in closing and sealing the upper end of a regular cardboard carton. Any suitable means such as the adhesive tape 16 may be used to fasten the opposed closure flaps in place in closed position.

The open bottom end of the crate may be closed in the same manner by folding the bottom fiaps 14a downwardly over the bottom cleats 8 and again the opposed flaps will have a combined length to substantially close or span the space between the opposed side members.

It will be evident that the length of the flaps 14 and 14a may vary depending upon the height of the crate itself. The proportions of the crate illustrated are such thateach of the flaps when in its normal position lying against the associated side member will termiuate ap proximately at the center or intermediate cleat 9, and when folded to close the adjacent open end thereof, will reach approximately half-way across the distance between the opposed side members. lt Will be evident that if the crate is of greater height, each fiap could be longer and could conceivably be of such length to span the entire distance of the opposed side members if so desired. On. the other hand, a crate having less height than the one illustrated would necessitate the upper and lower flaps 14 and 14a overlapping at their ends in the normal position thereof in order to have suflicient length when in closed position so that the opposed flaps will substantially span the distance between opposed side members.

When the crate embodying the present invention is to be utilized, the bottom fiaps 14a may first be moved to closed position and sealed whereupon the crate is in condition for receiving the merchandise to be placed therein. The top end of the crate may then be closed simply by folding the upper flaps 14 in the manner illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 and sealed in closed position by any suitable means such as the adhesive tape 16. This construction may be utilized to quickly and easily seal in the contents of the crate without the necessity of utilizing a rigid slatted cover and bottom and thereafter nailing the cover or bottom to the adjacent cleats 7 or 8. Although the crate may be sealed in the same manner that is used in connection with cardboard boxes, the crate is, nevertheless, more sturdy than a cardboard carton due to the structure of the side members. Y 7

Fig, 5 illustrates a modified form of the invention where the closure flaps 14 may be identicl with those shown in Fig. 1 but where the side members of the crate have a slightly different structure. In this form of the invention each side member may be composed of the same reinforcing members 6 along each edge thereof and may also have the topcleat 7, intermediate cleat 9, and bottom cleat 8, as illustrated in Fig. l, but not shown in Fig. 5. The sides of the crate are bound together in the same manner by means of the wires, but in this instance each side member is provided with a panel 17 extending between the reinforcing members 6. This panel 17 may be formed of any suitable material such as paperboard, plywood, corrugated board, and the like. Each panel 3l7 may be secured in place such as by utilizing the staples 18 to staple the panel to the end and intermediate cleats.

The crate may still be collapsed in the same manner shown in Fig. 8 and the upper and lower open ends thereof may be closed in the manner above described so that each end will have the appearance shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 illustrates a further modification of the invention which embodies a combination of the closure flaps with the crate construction of Fig. 5. In this case, however, each side member consists of a framework which includes the reinforcing strips 19 at each side thereof and tr ansversely extending cleats as illustrated at 20. The bottom of the crate and each side member will be con structed in the same manner as the top thereof as shown in Fig. 6 and if desired an intermediate cleat may be. used for strengthening purposes.

Each side member also includes a panel 21 preferably formed of a flexible material such as paperboard or corrugated paper positioned on the inner surface of its associated side member. The closure fiap 22 forms an integral part of the panel 21 which merely extends upwardly and/ or downwardly beyond the framework of the side member any suitable or desired distance such that when opposed flaps 22 are folded toward each other their combined length will be sufiicient substantially to span the space between the associated opposed side members.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 6 the closure fiaps 22 normally extend in a direction away from the end of the associated side member except that the top flaps will extend upwardly from the. crate and the bottom fiaps will extend downwardly therefrom so that the crate and flaps may be collapsed in that condition; v

The contents of the crate may be sealed in in the same manner as that described above with respect to the fiaps 14. The bottom flaps which have not been shown in Fig. 6 may be folded inwardly toward each other to close the open bottom of the crate and the top flaps may be folded in the same manner and thereafter sealed by suitable means such as an adhesive tape. The length of each fiap 22 is unimportant except that the combined lengths of opposed flaps should be at least suflicient to substantally close or span the space between opposed side members.

The collapsible crate as described above is satisfactory for a great many varieties and types of merchandise, but it often happens that it may be necessary to use the crate for packing heavy machinery and other similar mer chandise necesstating the use of a more rigid bottom or top than is afiorded merely by use of the flaps 14 or 22. When such is the case, the construction may be like that illustrated in Fig. 7 where a bottom member 23 and a top member 24 may be used in combination with the closure flaps.

The crate itself may take any one of the forms hereto fore described such as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or Fig. 5, or Fig. 6. If a more rigid bottom and top cover is desired, the bottom 23 which may be of the usual slatted construction may be placed in a position to support heavy merchandise such as a machine. The crate may then be placed over the machine and onto the bottom closure 23 so that the slats thereof will be in contact with opposed bottom cleats 8. If a rigid top is desired, the cover 24 may be placed over the open upper end of the crate so that the ends of the slats 25 will be in contact with the opposed cleats 7.

Instead of nailing or stapling the rigid top member 24 onto the upper end of the crate which is a time consuming and expensive operation, it is merely necessary with the present invention to fold the flaps 14 upwardly and then downwardly over the cover 24 so that the outward appearance will be like that shown in Fig. 3. The flaps may then be sealed in place in the usual manner thereby retaining the removable cover 24 in place.

The bottom flaps 14a may also be folded downwardly into overlapping relation as hereinabove described and sealed in place thereby to hold the bottom member 23 against removal so that it will not need to be nailed or stapled in place.

It will be understood that use may or may not be made of the bottom 23 and top 24 depending upon the type and weight of the merchandise to be contained within the crate. The invention, however, lies in the provision of the flexible closure flaps secured to the side members of the crate in such a way that they may be able to be collapsed with the crate and to be folded to seal the ends of the crate when it is in the open upright position as shown in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that the structure is such that the container or crate has the strength normally present in a commercial wrebound box and yet it may be sealed at the open ends thereot quickly and easily without the use of nails, staples, or other similar fastening means, all of which are expensive and time consuming to use.

From the standpoint of the invention, it is immaterial what form the crate takes whether it be the slatted type shown in Fig. 1, or the panel type shown in Fig. 5. The invention also embraces the end flaps whether they extend along the sides of the crate in their normal position, or extend in a direction away from the crate as shown in Fig. 6, as long as the flaps are present and are of suificient length so that they may cooperate with each other substantally to close the open end of the crate.

It has also been determined that machines presently in use for making wrebound boxes and crates may also be used with perhaps slight modification to make the crate embodying the present invention in a continuous manner so that the customary four side members may be formed together and secured in the customary way by wrappng the free ends of the binding wire around each 6 other thereby constituting the hinged connections which permit the crate to be collapsed.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of parts from those disclosed herein without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the attendant advantages thereof, provided, however, that such changes fall within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

The invention is hereby clamed as follows:

l. A collapsible wrebound tubular crate comprising a plurality of spaced apart hingedly connected side wall members, each side wall member having inner vertical slats arranged adjacent to the sides thereof, outer spaced horizontal cleats arranged exteriorly of the slats of each wall member, continuous and encircling binding wires connecting the wall members together and extending on the inside of the cleats and on the outside of the slats, a flap of flexible material associated with each wall member at each end thereof and arranged outwardly of the respective wall member at the corresponding end thereof, the outer free end of the flap of each wall member being mpinged between the outside of the respective slat and the inside of the respective cleat at the corresponding end of the wall member and extending in a direction toward the opposite end of the wall member, the flaps of each wall member being adapted to be folded over the outer edge of the respective outer cleat and folded at right angles to the corresponding wall member and extended inwardly of the crate to provide closures at each end, and staples straddling the binding wires and extending into the respective flaps and into the respective horizontal cleats of each wall member, said flaps on each end of each wall being of a length suflicient to span the distance between the opposite side wall members of the crate.

2. A collapsible wrebound tubular crate comprising a plurality of spaced apart hingedly connected side wall members, each side wall member including inner vertical slats arranged adjacent to the sides thereof, outer spaced horizontal cleats arranged exteriorly of the slats of each wall member, continuous and encircling binding wires connecting the wall members together and extending on the inside of the cleats and on the outside of the slats, a flap of flexible material associated with each wall member and arranged outwardly of the respective wall member at one end thereof, the outer free end of the flap of each wall member being mpinged between the outside of the respective slat and the inside of the respective cleat at one end of the wall member and extending in a direction toward the opposite end of the wall member, the flap of each wall member being adapted to be folded over the outer edge of the respective outer cleat and folded at right angles to the corresponding wall member and extended inwardly of the crate to provide an end closure, and staples straddling the binding wires and extending into the respective flaps and into the respective horizontal cleat of each wall member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

